Blizzard blasts southern Manitoba

Winnipeggers started digging out Thursday after a blizzard hammered southern Manitoba, with city police urging drivers to stay off the roads for much of the day.

“We encourage everyone to remain home if possible,” the Winnipeg Police Service said in a morning social-media post.

The blizzard knocked down power lines and caused multiple power outages across southern Manitoba, affecting several thousand customers, Manitoba Hydro said in a release. Road conditions and closures delayed repair work.

Parts of the Interlake region received the most snowfall, with 17 centimetres, while Winnipeg received seven to 10 centimetres, Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said.

In pictures: Winnipeg blizzard, Dec. 18, 2025

High winds and freezing temperatures were expected to stick around until Friday, when a second, weaker Alberta clipper is expected to make its way across the Red River Valley. That system is expected to bring five to eight centimetres of snow and more strong wind gusts.

“Friday is the start of holiday travel season, so it’s probably going to put a snarl in some people’s plans,” Lang said.

Crews began clearing main roads at about 1 a.m. Thursday. Michael Cantor, the City of Winnipeg’s manager of street maintenance, said the city paused its plowing operations later that morning because blowing snow made clearing difficult.

Crews had to postpone sidewalk clearing because wind gusts brought snow right back to the pavement.

“The wind really blows the snow all over and doesn’t give us much of a chance to clear and keep those streets clear,” he said. “It wasn’t effective.”

The plowing of main and collector streets, and sidewalks, was set to resume at 7 p.m. Thursday. Back lanes will be plowed starting at 7 a.m. Saturday.

Residential streets will be plowed Sunday because of Friday’s expected snowfall. That work is expected to be completed by Tuesday.

Highways across southern Manitoba were closed for much of Thursday, including the Perimeter Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway west and east of Winnipeg. Many had reopened by afternoon.

Manitoba RCMP said they received 11 reports of collisions around the province between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

“There are also numerous reports of vehicles stuck in ditches,” Mounties said in a news release, adding about 20 drivers reported they were stranded because of road conditions.

A residential parking ban will begin at 7 a.m. Sunday and be in effect until 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The annual winter-route parking ban, which started Dec. 3 and will continue until spring, will be suspended during the residential ban.

Drivers will be permitted to park overnight on designated winter routes during the residential ban. Motorists must continue to obey any other street signage prohibiting or limiting parking.

The residential ban will only be in effect for particular areas for specific times. Drivers can check their zone in advance on the city’s website.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said most home-care service was cancelled Thursday, except for high-risk clients. Only essential tasks will be performed for those who receive service, and likely only once in a 24-hour period.

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“We will be reassessing the situation daily and will advise when home care will resume,” the WRHA said in a news release.

Garbage and recycling collection was cancelled Thursday, with service expected to resume Friday. Collection scheduled for Friday has been postponed to Saturday.

Winnipeg Richardson International Airport said on its website that some flights were cancelled or delayed Thursday.

Canada Post suspended mail delivery and collection in Winnipeg on Thursday.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.